The Motals

Mommy Daughter Dinner

2012-02-11T22:49:00.005-06:00

Camie and I took the girls out for a mommy daughter dinner at Chez Zee. They got all dolled up and for their special date!!! Emma waiting patiently for Camie and Mia to get there.
The girls scoping out the desserts!!!

They thought the piano player was pretty great.

They restaurant was all decked out in whimsical hearts and strings of red and white lights. Lots of eye candy for sure!

Emma got brownie bites for dessert. She even was kind enough to save a few to bring home for her daddy to enjoy!

Our dates for the evening :)

I had the best time with my precious girl!!! We should go on special mommy daughter dates more often!!! Thanks for a wonderful evening, Emma!!! Notice the necklace and bracelete that she made with Landry earlier today. She was sooooo proud of her "jewels"!!!

Will you be my Valentine???

2012-02-11T22:16:00.008-06:00

Emma had a sweet Valentine's play date with sweet Landry. Landry served up yummy strawberry milk.

They made valentine's cards and necklaces.

They decorated cookies.

Notice the frosting in the hair. No surface was safe with these two :)

After cookie decorating, Krista (Landry's Mama) made heart shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Real food was much needed after the kids started coming down off their sugar high :)

Landry waiting for Emma in his loft for a quick story time before we headed home for nap.

Buddies :)

Emma enjoyed the Valentine's Day stories that Mrs. Krista read!!!

Thanks for having us over, Krista and Landry!!! We had a wonderful time!!!

Happy Birthday, Kiara!!!

2012-02-11T21:57:00.006-06:00

Emma's friend, Kiara, had her birthday party at Capitol Gymnastics. The kiddos loved playing on all of the equipment!!! We had a lot of fun!!! Notice the slightly upturned hands. She looks like a natural. She came home and was doing the same thing down the hallway, following the tiles.
The trampoline runway.

rope swing

Rowan, Emma and Quinney

Trampoline

The foam pit was the biggest hit of all!!!

CANNONBALL!!!!!

Thanks for including us in your birthday celebration, Kiara!!!

Found Photos

2012-02-11T21:44:00.008-06:00

These were some pictures that were on my memory card that needed to be uploaded. I LOVE Emma's expression in this picture. It was taken on New Year's Eve and she had one of those extra long sparklers. She was waving it around in a circular motion and apparently was pretty amazed at what she saw :)

After Thanksgiving, I got a new camera (canon t3i) and my friend met up with Emma and I to give me a little tutorial on how to shoot in manually. I took these 3 pictures of Emma in manual mode after a quick lesson in aperture and shutter speed :) I thought they turned out pretty good for my first attempt!

This picture reminds me of a school photo :) They always have a backdrop and some sort of prop.

Finding my Inner Runner...

2012-02-02T20:30:00.003-06:00

Over the Christmas break, I ate my fair share (and then some) of sweet goodness which prompted me to take action in 2012. Yes, I...like millions of others... made a New Year's resolution to work out. Running seemed to be the quickest and cheapest way to work out for me. We live in a very runner friendly neighborhood with many hike and bike trails...one of which is out our back gate. There were no excuses and I felt myself wanting to become one of THEM.

I have always watched runners from afar and admired them as they gracefully passed by. My history with running has not really been a successful one. In my mind, I have always envisioned myself as a gazelle...in reality, it is as if I was wearing cement blocks on my feet. After about 1 minute of running I would quit with my lungs and legs on fire. I have not really run since high school and even then, it was primarily sprints. I dreaded anything longer than a 200 yard dash!

Last spring, I purchased the Couch to 5k app and didn't do anything but read the workouts until now. The C25K is a 8 week running program that focuses on time intervals rather than distance intervals. It seemed to put running in manageable chunks that I felt I could handle. I loved that I could listen to Pandora and a woman's voice would break through telling me to "run now" and then tell me to "walk now". All I had to do was keep moving forward and change speeds according to her directives. Simple enough :)

Week 1 seemed easy on paper...
5 minute warm up
45 second run
90 second walk
repeat for a total of 20 minutes
5 minute cool down

I thought it would be a piece of cake...I could absolutely run 45 second intervals with a walk break in between. Let me just tell you, I had a hard time with the 45 seconds and wondered how in the world I was going to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping. I forced myself to keep going, rain or shine...cold or COLDER, and pushed though week after week. I had some really tough days, but after every session I felt extremely proud and continued to gain confidence and strength as a runner. I started to look forward to running, trying to see if I could get farther on the trail than I did the time before. I love that I have started passing the same people running and that we greet each other with a quick nod or a brief smile...we are all in this together and I now feel like I am part of their club.

I am now finishing up with week 6 and Saturday I will run for 20 minutes nonstop. This is a HUGE accomplishment for me! I no longer have burning legs and lungs when I run, I embrace the challenge of each new level, and I just might look more like a gazelle instead of an uncoordinated gorilla :)

I will keep you posted and let you know when I reach my goal of running 30 minutes nonstop...hopefully 2 weeks from now :)

Christmas #3 with the Pattons

2011-12-30T22:38:00.010-06:00

We had Christmas with my family on December 27th. It was a lot of fun to have everybody together and to watch the kiddos play!

Charlie is one lucky guy to be loved by two sweet, sweet girls!!!

Gigi and Charlie

Emma and Mia put on a puppet show.

Lela and Charlie...he sure was getting lots of loving on the 27th!!!

This Christmas tree is covered with so many childhood ornaments...many of which are made by Camie and I. It is fun to look at the ornaments and reminisce.

Emma was wearing the same outfit that Mia had worn 3 years earlier. I had requested a similar pose of Mia when she wore it to show off her "bear bottom" tights. Emma was happy to show off her bear, also :)

Mia got a Fur Real Pet kitten.

Emma got the puppy. He is a lot of fun!

Emma also got a sweet baby doll...which she named Flowerly. Where do they come up with this suff????

Chef Emma...Thanks, Gigi!!!

Cam and Charlie...more lovin' :)

Kung Fu craziness in front of the Christmas Tree :)

Ah....that's better! What a great picture of these girls!

Christmas Morning 2011

2011-12-30T22:13:00.007-06:00

There was a lot of excitement Christmas morning!!!

Emma found a note that Santa had left her thanking her for the milk and cookies. This is what Em found on her bedroom door. Santa wanted to make sure that Emma did not sneak out while he was delivering gifts. Emma decided that she could crawl under the "gate".

Silly Santa! Her reaction to seeing the bike and teddy bear was priceless!!!

We waited until my parents got here to eat breakfast and open the rest of Emma's gifts. She was very patient!

Look at that face upon seeing Snow White, one of the Disney princess dolls.

She ended up getting Tiana (from Princess and the Frog) and Snow White for Christmas. Ariel invited them over for a tea party :)

Bodhi had the best seat in the house...toasty warm in front of the fire.

We hope you had a VERY Merry Christmas with your family and friends!!!

Prepping for Santa's Visit

2011-12-30T21:27:00.012-06:00

We had so much fun this year prepping for Santa's visit! I will give fair warning now...this post is full of pictures :)

We waited until Christmas Eve to make cookies...just in time for Santa!

We waited until after Emma's nap to decorate the cookies...hence the naked child :)

Emma enjoying her freshly decorated cookie.

We also decided to do a tour of lights on Christmas Eve. It was a rainy, COLD night, but Emma still loved looking at the lights and pointing out all the things that we should do to our house. Just liked the way it turned out! This street has lights draped over the streed and most houses are pretty festively decorated. Always a fun treat during Christmas!

Our view from our rain dropped windows.

After we got home, it was time to put on the Christmas jammies and get ready for bed. Such an exciting night!!!

Annual Christmas Eve picture in front of the tree.

Getting the cookies and milk ready for the Big Guy!

Travis and I set out her Santa requests...a bike and a teddy bear. Our Santa gifts stay unwrapped...thank goodness!!!

Looks like Santa is enjoying his cookies and milk!!! :)

Since it was rainy, we decided to put muddy footprints by the fireplace this year. Trav had a great time walking out in the mud and stamping his boots on the tile!

Convincing???

M Cubed

2011-12-30T21:14:00.004-06:00

Emma and I took a quick trip to Houston to visit with Mike, Molly, and Makenzie Mauldin. We last saw Mike and Molly this summer when little Miss Makenzie was still in her mama's belly. Emma and I were thrilled to meet Makenzie and I was excited to catch up with dear friends! Thanks for being such wonderful hosts, Mike and Molly! Emma really enjoyed playing with Makenzie.

Look at those lips! She is such a sweet girl!!!

Cheese!

Can't wait until our next visit!!!

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-30T21:08:00.003-06:00

Christmas Tree 2011
Christmas Card 2011

Christmas #1 with the Motals

2011-12-30T20:46:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful time at Trav's parents' house for our 1st Christmas celebration. Emma LOVES flashlights and was soooooo lucky to get 3 flashlights and a light stick from her grandparents! What a perfect gift for our little girl!
Grandma and Emma looking at the giant look and find book.

Emma hammering away on her toolbox :)

Trav giving Emma a tool lesson :)

It was a BEAUTIFUL day! Emma enjoyed playing outside on the swing set.

Riding on the tractor with Grandpa.

Having a great time!

Emma and her Daddy

The Motals

Grandpa, Emma, Travis, Grandma and Uncle Brad

Merry Christmas, Y'all!!!

ROES Staff Party

2011-12-30T20:16:00.004-06:00

We hosted Trav's school for their annual staff holiday party. We loved having everybody over...what a way to kick off the holiday season!!!

One of the highlights of the party was a copy machine pinata. Apparently, River Oaks had a REALLY old copier that was a nightmare to work with and they finally got a new copier before the holidays. Inspired by the movie Office Space, Travis and a couple other teachers decided to have a copy machine bashing session. It was amazing how excited these teachers got about hitting this pinata. I was surprised that there were not any accidents!!!

I am pretty sure that Andrew had the best technique!!! Great shot!
Diana is such a sweet, kind lady...but she sure let the pinata have it!

Andrew, Trav and Nathan with the beat up copy machine. They were very proud of how it all played out!

There was a white elephant gift exchange. When I asked Trav what I should get, he said that he was told the gifts should be "ridiculous". I must say that the staff did not disappoint. We have since found several of these gifts hidden in closets around our house...the gifts that keep on giving :)

Visiting with Friends

2011-12-30T19:59:00.003-06:00

My good friends, Ab and Jamie came over to have dinner and catch up a bit. It is always so much fun to get together with these girls (and their families). I cannot believe we have been friends for this long!!! Ab and I have known each other since middle school (20+ years????) and Jamie and I have been friends since elementary school (yowzers...you do the math :) Our lives have changed a lot since our elementary, middle, and high school days...but, I still love having these ladies in my life!!! Jamie and I...Ab had already left for the night. Little did we know, but Ab was holding on to quite a secret that night. She will be welcoming her second baby in June!!! Next time, we will make sure we get the whole clan :)

Jamie's precious girls, Ella and Zadie with Emma. The girls love getting together and playing!!! Oh...and the long lost sister, Rapunzel :)

Fall Folliage...I LOVE it!!!

2011-12-30T19:44:00.005-06:00

Our backyard had many trees that make me look forward to fall!!! Ahhhhh...soooooo lovely, but it is sooooo short lived :( Until next year...

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2011-12-01T21:22:00.005-06:00

Emma wrote a letter to Santa this year. She copied his name, drew the picture of the teddy bear she wants, wrote her letter, and signed her name. I am surprised that all she wants is a teddy bear. She has been asking for a teddy bear from Santa for weeks. That's easy :)
Santa reading Em's letter.

I thought it would be cute to have Emma take her Santa pic in her footie pjs.

Asking her standard Santa questions...she seemed a bit awestruck!

After Santa, we decided to ride the train around the mall. Emma thought it was GREAT!!!

Standing in front of the train in her jammies...it was our own mini Polar Express. We ended the night with Chick-Fil-A and a cookie. It was a lot of fun to watch Emma take it all in. This is going to be a wonderful Christmas!!!

On the Hunt for the Perfect Tree

2011-12-01T21:05:00.005-06:00

We went to the Elgin Tree Farm again this year to look for the perfect tree. We knew we hunted and hunted and had a hard time finding a tree that was 8+feet tall. So, we decided that we would cut a small tree for our dining room and then we would go get a taller tree at a christmas tree lot. We ended up finding a BEAUTIFUL tree and had a great time decorating it that night. Emma and Travis hauling away the mini tree :)
Emma and Travis standing next to the tree that Trav picked to cut down.

Hmmmmm....I wonder what she is thinking????

Sooooo sweet!!!

Emma thought THIS was the perfect tree for us :) I told her I would take her picture with it, but we were going to leave it there for everybody to enjoy :)

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T20:14:00.002-06:00

I took ZERO pictures to document Thanksgiving 2011 :( Trav and I hosted both sides of our families again this year. We loved having everyone over and enjoyed chatting over good wine and good food!

So...while I did not take any pictures, I do have a funny story to tell.

Picture this sweet girl.

Add a piece of carrot...up her nose.

YES...Emma wanted to show Mia a carrot nose and proceeded to shove a piece of glazed carrot up her nose. She told Trav (as we were eating) that she had a carrot up her nose. We did not believe her and thought she was just being silly. Trav took her to the bathroom to blow her nose and to humor her and low and behold...he walked out with a carrot wrapped in a kleenex. Thank goodness it was not too big and was able to be removed by a quick blow :) Who said nothing good happens at the kids' table????

Hope everybody had a LOVELY Thanksgiving with family and friends!!!

Family Pictures

2011-11-26T19:59:00.005-06:00

My friend, Ashley, took our family pictures for 2011. Here are a few of my favorites...minus the one we picked for our Christmas photo :) Ashley did a great job!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Emma Grace...or should I say Precious Puppy?

2011-11-09T11:33:00.010-06:00

Emma turned 3 on November 5th. We had some friends over for a puppy party. As soon as the kiddos walked into our house, they were transformed into little puppies and headed outside for some fun. First they went to the Dog Pound to adopt their very own puppy. They had to name it and get a leash. We had different stations set up for them to play with. There was the Groomer, the Pet Store, the Dog Park, and the Vet. The kiddos had a lot of fun role playing and taking care of their newly adopted pal.

Kendall and Quinn in the Doghouse. Quinny trying really hard to give his meanest look.

Travis made a cute puppy and had fun playing the part!!!

Loved Mollee's well balanced meal :)

Q with his puppy and his puppy's toy that he got at the pet store.

Rowan playing in the dog park.

Emma and Colby at the vet station.

Kendall washing her puppy at the grooming station.

The birthday girl and Mia

Make a Wish!

Landry doing a great puppy imitation!

Leah and Gabby made LOVELY pups!

Luca Puppy

Charlie and I
Mia made Charlie little puppy ears, but they did not last :)

Happy Birthday, Emma Grace!!! It has gone by all too quickly, but it has been loads of FUN!!!

My Little Ladybug

2011-11-09T11:00:00.005-06:00

Emma posing next to Charlie (our neighbor's dog) who was also a ladybug :) We all gathered in the culdesac again this year and anxiously awaited the parade of costumes.

Emma was not sure of what to think of Tyler, our neighbor. Last year, Tyler showed Emma what to do at each door. He did a pretty good job because this year, she did not need any guidance.

She was SOOOOOO excited to get going! Off we go!

One of the culdesacs, down the street from us, had a bounce house for the kiddos. Emma had to take a break from trick or treating to try it out.

That same culdesac also had a creative and creepy house. Emma loved driving by it in the days leading up to Halloween, but was not as sure on foot. She made it half-way to the door and the owner felt bad when she was startled by the snake that jumped out at her. He came to us and handed Em the candy.

Emma did a great job saying "Trick-or-Treat" and walked away waving and saying "Thank you!" to all the houses. She had a blast and went to quite a few more houses than last year.

We got back to our house and Emma sat back and ate a cupcake and admired her candy bucket. It is still very full and hiding away in our kitchen cabinet. She is more interested in the gathering of the candy than the eating of the candy...I am fine with that :)

Still smiling after a long night!!! I wonder what she will be next year!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-09T10:49:00.002-06:00

One of my friends wanted to take pictures of Emma in the pumpkin patch. She captured some great moments. Here are some shots that I got with my camera.

Hairy Man Festival

2011-11-09T10:29:00.003-06:00

We went to the Hairy Man Festival...yes, there was a Hairy Man Contest. We did not stay to see which shirtless man won the big cash prize. It is held in a park close to our house.
Here is the story behind the Hairy Man.

The legend of Round Rock's Hairy Man dates to pioneer days. Various versions of the local legend say a young boy either fell off a wagon as pioneers headed west or was separated from them by flood waters. However it happened, the boy then either lived on his own in the woods or was raised by local animals. Eventually the boy grew into a man and became a hermit and, well, very hairy. The story says the hairy man frequently tried to chase away strangers and would hide in the trees to scare passers by, sometimes sitting up in the tree canopy which grew over the road, dragging his feet on the top of passing stagecoaches. One day, he supposedly fell in front of a stagecoach and was trampled to death, doomed to haunt the shady road to this day.

Glad to know that the Hairy Man "haunts" this road...Our house backs up to it :(

It was a HOT day. Emma enjoyed sitting in the shade and enjoying her slush as she watched people pass by.

She got to stand in the middle of a juggling ring. I was also holding my breath, praying that these men were accurate with their throws. Trav said that he could feel the pins brushing by his head. Em was not quite sure what to think about it. You could tell she was afraid to move...thank goodness!!!

We got her face painted by this lovely lady. It was free...a company was hosting her for a couple of hours. She was soooo quick and did a great job! At first, Emma wanted to be an abominable snowman, but then when she sat down, she asked for a bunny.

And what a cute bunny she turned out to be!!!

Mia's 6th Birthday

2011-11-09T10:12:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday, Mia!!!

Sweet girls!!! They have sooooo much fun together!!

Mia had her birthday party at a ceramics place. All the kids got to pick out an animal that they wanted to paint. Emma picked the aligator. She was pretty focused on getting it all painted!

I cannot BELIEVE Mia is already 6 years old!!! Beautiful girl!!!

Fall into Fall?!?!

2011-09-10T21:24:00.002-05:00

I called my mom at about 7:20 Friday morning. I could tell that something was wrong and when I asked, her voice cracked and she told me that my grandmother (my dad's mom) had fallen a little after 7am and was on her way to the hospital via ambulance. She had very little information. I decided I was going to call in sick to work, drop off Em at her sitter's house, and meet my mom at the emergency room.

We encouraged my grandma to get an emergency necklace after my grandpa died in case she fell or needed immediate help. She was wearing her necklace and because she did not respond, the ambulance was called. We did not think she would need the necklace sooooo soon, but were very thankful that she had it!!! She would have been laying with a broken hip until somebody found her...which may have been quite a while ;(

In the emergency room, Grandma got confirmation that she broke her hip, but all in all I was surprised that she was in such good spirits. We knew she was going to have surgery and were hoping she would get in early that afternoon, but she had complications getting her anti clotting medicine reversed and had to wait till this morning. At 7am this morning, she was whisked away to the OR. I was in her room when she got back around 9:30 and she was in great spirits again!!! The surgeon put 3 screws in her hip instead of a replacement and he said that it could not have gone more smoothly. The first thing she asked about was if she could brush her teeth and her hair. This made me laugh...priorities ;) She also ordered oatmeal and fresh fruit. I was a bit concerned about letting her eat so soon after surgery, but she ate it right up without any problems.

What a trooper!!! She has been amazingly strong and positive over the last 2 days and has had sense of humor intact the entire time!!!

The surgeon was pretty honest in saying that the next 3-6 months are going to be REALLY rough, but we are thankful for a pretty smooth start to this journey.

Emma got to visit GiGi at the hospital. I had explained to her that GiGi broke her hip, but the doctors were able to fix it, but that GiGi had to rest in bed for a while. When we got to the hospital, she saw some women leaving the hospital in scrubs. She asked us if they were doctors and we told her yes. She said,"thank you!" to the doctors. When we asked her why she told them thanks, she said "because they fixed Gigi's hip!" Priceless and soooo sweet!!!
We love you GiGi and wish you the speediest of recoveries!!!

Pearly Whites

2011-08-02T21:16:00.002-05:00

Emma went to the dentist for the 2nd time. She was much more receptive this time around!!! She walked away with her goodie bag and no cavities!!! Counting and Checking those Teeth

Polishing

Flossing

I was surprised she let Dr. Tiller floss!!!

Introducing Charles Wilson Fillpot

2011-07-31T00:26:00.011-05:00

Charles Wilson Fillpot

July 28, 2011

@ 4:22pm

7.1 lbs 20 in

Proud BIG Sister!!!

We sang happy birthday and ate birthday cupcakes.

Cam getting some much needed sleep!!!

Singing Happy Birthday to Baby Charles

Port A 2011

2011-07-30T23:20:00.009-05:00

Aboard the USS Lexington Emma testing her hand at being a pilot.

Texas State Aquarium

Family Time on the Beach

We spent the evenings building sand castles...it was lovely!!!

Emma got pretty good at drizzling wet sand on her sand castles to make towers.

Dolphin Encounters

We were able to see MANY dolphin pods on this adventure. It was fun to see the dolphins in their natural environment and it was very exciting to anticipate when and where we would see the next group!

Fishing with Grandpa

Trav's parents and brother drove up to the beach on our last weekend there. I left on the day that they arrived b/c my grandpa had died that morning, but Trav and Emma stayed to spend time with his family for a few days. They had a great time!!!

C. Duane Patton

2011-07-30T22:50:00.003-05:00

My grandpa (89) died unexpectedly on July 15, 2011. We were all very saddened and shocked by his passing, but were SOOOOO very thankful that every Patton was together just a few weeks before at our Patton Family Reunion over the 4th of July. He enjoyed watching all of us together and said many, many times that it was the BEST family reunion ever.

Grandpa, Grandma, and Emma

My grandparents were married for 64 years!!!

Grandpa had been writing an autobiography for some time, but just completed it and turned it into the publisher on June 30th, 2011. What a blessing that he was able to leave such a precious gift behind! I look forward to reading this and learning more about his life!

We had a memorial service a few days after his death and displayed items that we felt represented him. My grandpa served in World War II under General Patton (no relation).

Grandpa's old gardening hat.

You will be missed!

Patton Family Reunion 2011

2011-07-30T21:45:00.011-05:00

We the Patton Family Reunion during the 4th of July weekend. We all gathered at my parents house in Georgetown and we had a fabulous time reconnecting! There were families representing Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Thanks for the great time!!! I look forward to the next one!

There were 27 of us total---my grandparents, their 4 children (their spouses), all 9 grandchildren (and their spouses), and the 6 great grand children AND 2 more great grandkids in utero.

Grandpa and Grandma with their 4 Children

Grandpa and Grandma Patton

They had SUCH a wonderful time watching all 4 generations interact with each other!!!

All the great grand children feeding the fish in my parents' pond. I am sure that the fish got more food than they needed that day :)

All the grandchildren.

Manji

2011-07-30T21:13:00.004-05:00

Emma and I hunted down Monarch caterpillar eggs this spring. We found an egg on a milkweed plant and waited for it to hatch. We waited...and waited...and waited and nothing happened. I was SOOOOOOOOO disappointed. My friend, Krista brought me a caterpillar to replace my dud egg. We watched the caterpillar eat A LOT and grow and grow and turn into a chrysalis, then turn into a butterfly. Emma named the caterpillar Manji (I don't know where the name came from :) ). I had the best time experiencing the butterfly life cycle with Emma!!! It is definitely one of my favorite memories! We came home to find that Manji had emerged from his chrysalis.

Getting ready to release him/her!!!

Emma is NOT sure she likes holding the Manji!!!

I LOVE this picture!!! She was taking it all in!!!

Sooo sweet! What a great way to start the day!!!

A little unsure again :)

Emma was flapping her arm to teach Manji how to fly.

Now, everytime we see a Monarch she says, "Look, there's Manji!!!"

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T20:46:00.007-05:00

We had a great day at Travis' parents' house on Friday (pictures to come, my camera's batteries were dead). The Easter Bunny visited Em in Moulton and she got to hunt for eggs. She had a lot of fun playing with her Grandma and Grandpa.

Then...

Emma and I decided to dye eggs Saturday night. She decided to play with the dye tablets before she put them in the water...resulting in a red and a blue hand :) Em loved seeing the water in the cups change color and was even more excited when we pulled out the eggs and they were another color.
She carefully placed the eggs in her basket, along with the crunchiest carrots and crispiest lettuce she could find. We told her that the Easter Bunny would hide the eggs that we left for him.

Open wide :)

Easter morning...Em came into the hallway to discover that the carrots, lettuce, and eggs were replaced with Easter treats.

Bunny Bear was in her basket...she named him Fluffy.

We decided to hide the eggs inside b/c the sprinkler system watered the grass early Sunday morning and we thought that it may be too wet and a bit muddy for an egg hunt.

The Easter Bunny also brought Emma a painting book.
And stickers...

I was making some mashed potatoes and realized that Emma was a bit too quiet in her room. This is why...

She transferred all of the stickers to her right leg and toes.

We went to have lunch at my parents' house. We also had an egg hunt for the girls. Mia was really sweet and left many eggs on the ground for Emma to find.

Emma LOVED looking in the eggs to find her prize.

We had to bribe Emma with Jelly Beans to take a family picture. If you look closely, you can see the chewed up rainbow in her mouth :)

I love these girls!!! We are looking forward to Mia's little brother joining them in August!

I can't remember when we last had our picture taken as an entire family. We were surprised that we were able to get a picture with everybody looking and all eyes open :)

Precious pumpkin...worn out after a long day!

But not too tired to play dress up...

first as a cowgirl...

then as a princess. The girls pulled out Camie's old prom dresses for a fashion show.

Emma needed A LOT of clothes pins to hold that dress up.

March Updates

2011-03-20T19:48:00.012-05:00

I have not done a great job of posting...again :( I decided to post A LOT of pictures in hopes of catching up. One thing that I have realized, yet again, is that I need to take more pictures WITH my pumpkin. I have very few pictures documenting my presence at all of these events in her life. I always have the camera in my hand and I need to do a better job of passing the camera over to Trav and let him do some of the shooting.

Emma riding her first pony at the Rodeo. This pic is a bit out of order b/c it came off of T's phone. The rest of the rodeo pics are further down.

Emma and Mia playing with the hammock at my parents' house. They ALWAYS have such a great time when they are together!!!

Whoa!!!!

Em LOVES relaxing in the hammock!!! There were a few times that I thought she was falling asleep.

Emma thought she would drive the truck. By the time they got around the yard, Mia had taken over the wheel (while still sitting in the passenger seat). I am guessing Mia was not happy with Em's driving skills :)

A visit to Lela and Papa's house is not complete without a fish feeding :)

I LOVE this picture. It reminds me of my dad and I when I was a little girl. I used to love to follow him around. Emma was hunting for dandelion puffs to blow.

If you look closely, you can see the seeds swirling around the girls.

Em and Mia were snooping in Lela's bathroom cabinets and found a shower cap. Emma thought it was hilarious! All the adults got a good laugh as Em came walking in the room.

She looks so content. She was at a birthday party at Kiddie Acres---a little tykes amusement park.

My...what BIG feet you have :) Trying on her daddy's shoes.

Em and T riding the carousel at the Rodeo.

The girlies at the Rodeo :) The older Em gets, the more fun it is to watch them interact!!!

Guys and Dolls...walking to the rides @ the Rodeo.

Emma watching the Swine Races at the Rodeo. It looks like she is betting $ on her favorite pig to win.

Petting zoo at the rodeo. Em hugged each animal good-bye as we left :) She REALLY like petting all of the animals.

Watching the acrobats on the horses.

I just love that smile!!!!

Landry and Emma

"Fishing" after feeding the ducks with Landry.

Follow the Leader...Duck Style :)

At the park with friends.

Landry and Emma taking a peek into the cottage that is closed for renovations.

Happy Girl!!!

PANTIES!!!!!

2011-03-02T19:44:00.003-06:00

This is the video that Trav received from us on Sunday. He was up at school prepping for TAKS and Em and I were hangin' at Lela and Papa's house (my parents). Em has been using the toilet (regularly) for a while now and we are starting to move full steam ahead with potty training. We went to the store and bought her first pair of panties---she picked Hello Kitty and Tinkerbell. She was in her panties for about 2 hours and stayed dry the whole time. YAY, Em!!!

Something that I think is funny about our potty training experience is that Em has been going on the regular toilet, but sits backwards. We have skipped the small potty altogether---which I LOVE. It was a tip that her sitter gave us and it has worked beautifully!!! She straddles the toilet seat and is able to feel more stable instead of feeling like she is going to fall into the water down below. She has been managing to hoist herself up, scoot to the center and take care of business. It is really quite funny, but not something that I thought needed to be shown (nor did I think you wanted to see) on the blog :) Hopefully, she will transition into using the toilet, facing forwards, just as easily as she got used to sitting like a cowboy!

The Proposal

2011-02-26T11:54:00.002-06:00

I was filiming Emma being silly and caught a PRECIOUS moment on video. She was putting on my shoes, which (I am guessing) made her into a princess. She walked up to Travis and asked him...after a stuttering start...to marry her. After the hugs and kisses, Emma picks up Trav's hand and says, "Marry Me!" It was a pretty sweet moment. You have to listen carefully because the camera was to her back and she has a tiny, sweet voice.

Be Mine, Valentine!

2011-02-26T11:09:00.004-06:00

Emma was really excited about "ValenTIME's" day this year! She picked out the presents for her friends in January and talked about giving them their "Valentime's" until February 14th. On the 13th, Emma made her cards to go with the cute stuffed monkeys she picked out. I cut the hearts---obviously---but, Emma spent a lot of time and effort coloring each indivual card. After she was done, she asked me to put sparkles on the cards. We attached them to the monkeys and put "I love HANGIN' out with you, Valentine!" Emma signed each card with her scribbled line. It was a lot of fun.

The morning of Valentine's Day, I gave Emma a card that her GiGi and GiPa (great grandma and grandpa) had sent her. She looked at it and exclaimed, "For me?!?!?! Thank you!" Then she opened it up and told me to read it. Thanks for thinking of Emma on Valentine's Day, GiGi and GiPa!!! She loved getting mail!

Snow Day

2011-02-04T11:52:00.008-06:00

Travis got the text early this morning that we were having a snow day today. We will be making up for it on May 31st, but for now we will enjoy!

Even Bodhi joined us for some snowy fun!

Our sad attempt at making a snowman. We are going to blame it on the powdery snow :)

January Happenings

2011-02-04T11:11:00.005-06:00

We have been busy...SOOOOO busy that I have failed to blog for an entire month. I thought I would do a quick recap to get caught up. Emma went to the dentist for the first time. She was definitely unsure of the situation...especially of the stuffed frog with huge chompers :) She would only get on the chair if she was in my lap and she did not let Dr. Tillar do anything but brush her teeth. We will try again in 6 months.

Emma had to bundle up for some cold weather. Gigi made this cute coat and hat for Christmas. It is ADORABLE on Emma!!!
We also took advantage of the spring like weather and had an ice cream picnic at the park. Sooooo much fun. I cannot wait until we can make this a regular occurance. Maybe not ice cream everyday, but the park.

Emma also found time to dress up like a beautiful princess!

We squeezed in a few baths :)

We also celebrated Daddy's birthday on January 18th. I made a cookie cake. Emma and Travis enjoyed eating it.

More eating...Emma and I had a mommy/daughter date at Mighty Fine.
Baking with mommy. She is such a great little helper!!!

January FLEW by...I hope to do a bettter job blogging in February!

My Little Violinist?!?!?!

2011-01-02T09:35:00.003-06:00

Trav's Aunt Katherine is very musical and she pulled out a violin for Emma to play. Emma REALLY enjoyed making the different sounds with the bow. Again...I apologize for this video being sideways. I do not know how to rotate them and I always forget that I cannot video sideways. So...cock your head to one side and enjoy.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Christmas Cards

2011-01-02T08:07:00.007-06:00

These pictures are from our 2010 Christmas card shoot. I have to say...it is MUCH more difficult trying to get a good shot of a toddler than I thought it would be. A family shot was out because I was taking the pictures and you can't (easily) do a timer with a toddler. We tried to each get a shot with Emma, but they did not turn out great. So...in the end we just focused on Emma and ended up getting some pretty great shots!

The photo above is the one we ended up picking for the card.

I LOVE going to the mailbox in the month in December and getting Christmas cards! Looking forward to next year!!!!

Reflection Questions for 2010

2010-12-31T22:12:00.006-06:00

These are some questions that I stumbled upon (from simplemom.net) that made me think and review the past year. I thought I would share.

1) What is the single best thing that happened this year?

2) What was the single most challenging thing?

3) What was an unexpected joy this past year?

4) What was an unexpected obstacle?

5) Pick 3 words to describe 2010.

6) Pick 3 words your spouse would use to describe your 2010 (don't ask them, guess...based on how your spouse sees you).

7) Pick 3 words to your spouse would use to describe their 2010 (again...don't ask).

8) What were the best books that you read this year?

9) With whom were your most valuable relationships?

10) What was your biggest personal change from last January to December of this year?

11) In what ways did you grow this year?

12) In what ways did you grow spiritually?

13) In what ways did you grow physically?

14) In what ways did you grow in your relationships with others?

15) What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?

16) What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?

17) What was your single biggest time waster this past year?

18) What was the best way you used your time this year?

19) What was the biggest thing you learned this year?

20) Create a phrase or statement that describes 2010 for you.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T09:18:00.006-06:00

Emma woke up and (with some prompting) went to check to see if the cookies that she left for Santa were still there. She was very excited as she told us that Santa ate the cookies...and drank the milk. She was just as excited to inform my parents and Mia about this exciting news.

Santa brought Emma some fun gifts...here are some highlights.Emma loves brushing Julianna's long locks! She is in love with her newest baby!!!

Princess jewelry...complete with earrings, big ring, bracelets, neclace and sparkly purse.

princess tutu...as soon as she opened her bag, she said..."Look, a princess!!!" Emma also

We went to to my parent's house for Christmas with my sister and her family. Mia and Emma went to the family room and were looking at the presents. Mia was being the wise older cousin and teaching Emma about the ways of Christmas.

Still looking...but now Emma has pulled up a rocker to be more comfortable.

Time to open presents!!!

Emma helping to build the race track that Mia gave her.

Ah...the job of the Daddy on Christmas morning :) Trav got to put together many items for Emma this Christmas.

Emma loved her new cradle and matching high chair!!! Thanks Lela and Papa!!!

Emma helped Trav put together the high chair.

Emma and Mia had a lot of fun together this Christmas! Emma was wiped out!!!

Thanks for having us over, Mom and Dad! We had a great time!

Cookies for Santa

2010-12-25T08:03:00.006-06:00

Emma did a great job making cookies for Santa...with a little help from us :) She really enjoyed using the cookie cutters, rolling pin, and making a bit of a mess!

Plating cookies for Santa...mmmmmm!!!

Don't forget the milk!!!

She picked to put the cookies and milk on her little table by the Christmas tree. I wonder if she will be surprised when the cookies and milk are gone.

Christmas Eve 2010

Enjoying one last cookie before she went to bed...only on Christmas Eve would this happen :)

Girls' Night :)

2010-12-22T21:56:00.005-06:00

Our friend, Sara, had a precious baby girl on 12/12/10. Erin, Emma and I decided that we would make our way to Dallas to welcome Sophie Elise into this big, crazy world :) A whopping 9 days old :) She was TINY!!! I have forgotten how little they can be!
Being me is SOOOOOO exhausting!!!
Erin suggested that a face mask could be fun :) We kinda look like we are zombies!!!

Even Emma got a little bit of blue on her face.

Painting on their mask masterpieces

This is a great bunch of girls!!! I had a FABULOUS time visiting with you! We need to do it again soon!!!

Gingerbread House

2010-12-14T20:35:00.005-06:00

Emma got to make her first gingerbread house. She had a GREAT time putting the candy on the house AND sneaking a few pieces into her mouth. The next morning, emma came running into the kitchen pointing to her gingerbread house. Proud little architect!!!

Catching Up...Christmas tree hunting and a Juicy Turkey

2010-12-12T20:59:00.010-06:00

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we went to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. We were excited to have this experience with Emma, but both of us were quite overwhelmed with having to pick the perfect tree :) It is not as easy as it looks and it is a bit competitive. We would be eyeing a tree and walk away to compare it to another tree and by the time we turned back around somebody had claimed our first choice. We finally found our tree...after about 45 minutes of walking around. It was a fun day and I look forward to the hunt next year! Here we go...the hunt begins :)
Emma was checking out the trees that were more her size.

Here we are in front of our tree before T put the saw to its trunk.

It went down pretty quickly.

T did a great job!

Emma found the piece that T cut off to even off the trunk and tried to put it back on.

The tree was perfect!!! Emma loved the lights and ornaments.

Switching gears to Thanksgiving....

Emma wanted a princess hair-do. She has been focused on princesses and pretty dresses.

Cheese!

T and I hosted his family and my family at our house this year for Thanksgiving. I agreed to make the turkey. This was my first turkey ever and it turned out great!!! I got some advice to get a baking bag and cook the turkey at a lower temp overnight. The meat was literally falling off of the bones. I would be happy to host again next year.

The breast had split and the breast meat just came off in one piece.

This is just a picture that I like. Emma G lounging and blowing bubbles.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Emma Grace!!!

2010-11-16T19:43:00.012-06:00

Emma turned 2 on November 5th, 2010 and we celebrated her big day on November 6 with family and friends. It was a circus theme complete with circus foods (popcorn, cotton candy, pretzles and nachos) and fun circus booths (photo booth, face painting, bubbles, ball pit, bean bag toss) in the backyard to entertain the kiddos...and adults :) My friend, Erin, was soooooo kind to come over and capture the entire event with her camera. It was a fun filled, VERY memorable day!!!
My mom and I made a circus tent in the foyer of our house. There was no doubt that the guests were stepping right into the Motal's Big Top!

The art teacher at Trav's school, Sandy, came over to do face painting. She did a great job painting colorful creations on all of our cheeks!

Happy Birthday, Emma!!!

Super Hero Detective Story Elements A.K.A Daddy

2010-11-16T19:18:00.003-06:00

The teachers at Trav's school put on a play for Reading Night called Reading Saves the Day. One of T's teachers wrote, directed, and played a part in the play. Very talented young lady! So...Trav was Super Hero Detective Story Elements and he helps save the day. Travis was NOT shy at all. He was quite the ham as you can see from the pictures below! Great job, Babe! If this Assistant Principal thing doesn't work out, you can always act :)

Trick-or-Treat

2010-10-31T21:11:00.007-05:00

Emma Grace was a kitty cat this Halloween, but she was ALMOST a baby in a diaper :( As we were trying to CONVINCE her that it was a good idea to put on her cat costume, I could taste defeat!!! Emma was pretty sure that putting on the outfit that Mommy had picked out was a bad idea!!! But...somehow we convinced her that being a kitty and getting candy was great.

She wanted white on her chin and green on her cheeks. I said ok to the white on her chin, but put my foot down on the green cheeks :)

We practiced trick-or-treating at our house. Daddy gave Emma her first piece of Halloween candy.

Our neighbor's daughter had a pretty creepy and clever costume!

Our neighbor's son went with Emma to her first house to show her how it was done :) Thanks, Tyler!!!

Mmmmmm...I like this Trick-or-Treating thing!!!!

Emma liked the decorations that she saw as she trick or treated!!!

These ladies could not get enough of Emma!!!

Emma could not get enough of their bats!!!

This guy had an INCREDIBLE set up!!!! Emma heart was POUNDING as we walked up to his front door. His door was opened and a lifesize zombie was creeping on his floor. He definitely out did himself!!!

One of the culdesacs had a bounce house. Emma thought it was a GREAT idea until she got inside and saw the ladder for the slide. She turned around and told me that she wanted out.

Trick-or-Treat

SO MUCH FUN!!!!! She said Trick-or-Treat and Thank You at every house!!! Great Job Emma!!!

I questioned the owner of this house about the Red Raiders RIP sign.

All in all....this was a VERY successful Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-31T15:24:00.007-05:00

Today we went to get some pumpkin pictures. It was A LOT easier to get Emma to pose for pictures last October!!! It is easier for her to get up from posed positions and she is definitely more verbal about not wanting to sit for a picture. We still had a lot of fun though!!!! This is the pumpkin that Emma picked out to take home. It was a perfect size for our little punkin :)
Whoa...Heavy!!!

Emma was in awe of the giant pumpkin man!

Nothing like climbing over mounds of pumpkins!!! As I was taking pictures I was fearing that she would take a tumble or twist an ankle.

Clowning Around!!!

2010-10-28T21:55:00.004-05:00

Happy Anniversary!!!

2010-10-28T21:35:00.002-05:00

Trav and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary on October 14th. We decided to take a trip back to Wimberley where we were married and stay in a quaint little cabin in the hill country. The cabin was called Star Meadow and it was SOOOOO relaxing and had a BEAUTIFUL view! We both really enjoyed ourselves and had a lovely weekend!!! I got up to watch the sunrise on the first morning there and kept taking pictures every few minutes to get pictures of the changing sky. One of my pictures made me laugh. It looked just like a curly headed woman with lipstick on :)
I spent hours on this porch swing each day.

A good book+ pandora radio+coffee+warm blanket=

VERY RELAXING! There were huge windows throughout the house. I was outside watching the sunrise and this is what T was doing :)

Happy Anniversay!!! Thanks for the mini vacation!

The Hungry Caterpillar...Travis Style

2010-10-28T21:12:00.003-05:00

Trav's school had a pumpkin painting contest. The rule was that it had to be a story book character. Trav and I discussed and discussed different characters/book titles that we thought would be fun to paint. I was having these discussions fully thinking that Trav would want me to do the painting. Trav is not usually known for being artsy :) So, after picking the book, T said he wanted to do the entire thing by himself. I stayed awake for a while thinking that he was going to ask for help, but he did a great solo job!!! I was VERY proud of him when I saw the finished product the next morning. Mornings are TOUGH for sweet Trav...this is a very FORCED smile!!!
He showed what the caterpillar ate on all 7 days.

We find out tomorrow if Trav's pumpkin won first prize.

Yippee Ki Yay

2010-10-10T17:25:00.003-05:00

We were at my parents' house and Emma comes marching into the family room with my old cowboy boots on and was holding a wooden horse.

Emma and her horse riding off into the sunset :)

O-R-E-O

2010-10-10T17:05:00.004-05:00

Mmmmmmm...Daddy's snacks are much better than Mommy's snacks :)

Happy Birthday, Mia!!!

2010-09-11T22:24:00.006-05:00

Today we helped celebrate Mia's 5th birthday. I cannot believe it has been 5 years since she was born! Mia planned her birthday this year and decided that she wanted to have a "make your own pizza" party at Manja Pizza. We had a great time!!! Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl! Mia brought along Big, her doll, to the big celebration. We gave Big to her a couple of years ago. Big got her name b/c she was bigger than her other dolls :)
The kiddos got to put on aprons and chef hats for the pizza making. Emma was having a great time!!!

Emma was not holding back at all and was enjoying the company of all the 4 and 5 year olds around her!

Whoa! The lights went out for a few seconds :)

Emma listening to the instructions on how to build her pizza. What a good student!!!

She was really concentrating!

Finished masterpizza :)

All the kiddos lining up to put their pizzas in the oven.

Happy Birthday to you!

The birthday girl enjoying some cake and cold milk.

Emma admiring the doll that we got Mia. Emma hugged the box and walked away saying "mine". She does not quite get the idea of GIVING presents to people :)

Hmmmmm...do you think she would have flown away if Cam would have let go?

Odds and Ends

2010-09-06T21:58:00.004-05:00

Apparently Emma's little green wooden chairs are not comfortable enough for her! She decided that her leather recliner would be a better choice and pulled it up to her table. I love that her ankles are crossed! I hate that her hair is in her eyes!!! Where is that bow? Ahhhh...relaxing and coloring in a comfy chair. She sat her for quite a while, stopping occasionally to gaze out the window.

Is she going to be a teacher?!?!? She loves drawing on her chalkboard.
Emma went to a birthday party this weekend. It was a pirate pool party. She had a lot of fun seeing some of her friends from Wanda's. These are 2 of the other kiddos at Emma's sitter's house. The 3 of them are within 4 months apart---Em being the youngest. It is funny to see them interact and order each other around.
We took Em to her first ballgame this summer. She was not particularly interested in the game, but liked the music and seeing the silly things happening on the field.

Do you know the muffin man?

2010-09-06T21:50:00.003-05:00

Emma helped me make banana nut muffins this morning. She did a great job mixing and putting in the paper cups in the muffin pan. I do think she liked eating the muffins more than the making them :)

New iPhone App

2010-09-01T19:56:00.004-05:00

My friend, Erin, showed me this app today over coffee...which led to me buying THIS fun app today :) I took the following pictures with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone. I am already super giddy about it and I have only taken about 8 pictures. It transforms your iphone into any type of camera that you want. You can change the film, lenses and flashes. I am sure that I will have SOOOOOOO much fun playing around and will probably be uploading many more pics from my new found toy :) THANKS, Erin!!!!!!

Read, Read, Read!!!

2010-08-22T07:57:00.002-05:00

Emma LOVES books---I have posted this numerous times. It has put many a smile on my face when I see her "reading" to herself. I get a kick out of her retelling a story she has heard MANY times, or requesting books by their title---and rejecting those books she does not really want to hear. I have decided to put a basket of books next to her carseat, because she loves "reading" in the car. When she reads, she does not just flip through the pages, but she studies each one before she goes on. One of my goals for her is that she is a READER...that she devours books and that she knows what it is like to truly get lost in a story and not want it to end. Travis is not a book reader---more like a TIME magazine, Sports Illustrated, newspaper reader. I am the book reader. I LOVE having the book in my hand and turning each page, I can't wait to finish books so that I can start on the next one on my list, I can sit for hours...and hours reading, and find a certain calm and excitement as I enter a book store or a library. I wish this for Emma, too!

We have started going to the library to pick out books every couple of weeks. She does not quite get it yet, but I am sure she will soon enough. The Round Rock Library has a toddler area with shelves of board books. They are in no particular order and I can just let Emma loose and not worry about books being put back in the wrong place. Emma sitting outside of the library with her choice of books.

She could not wait to crack open one of her books. After I got her buckled in, she dove right in.

Notice the slight head/eye movement.

Oh...back to the other page to get another look before she turns the page.

The Austin Zoo

2010-07-25T14:41:00.004-05:00

My sister and I took the girls to the Austin Zoo last week. The Austin Zoo is not like a traditional zoo---it has many rescued and rehabilitated animals and visiting it is more like going on a hike in a forest...with encounters with lions, tigers and bears :) We had a great time watching Emma and Mia interact with the animals...and with each other!!!Emma and Mia holding hands.

Emma's first experience with feeding goats. I was definitely more nervous that they were going to mistake her finger for a carrot than she was :)

Hmmmm....which one should I pick to feed? Mia's bag of food got stolen from Mia's hands and the lamb yanked into their pen. This GREATLY disturbed Emma and she cried and cried at the injustice...and was mad at us for not fixing the problem.

That's right...go ahead and lay the food right on the goat's tongue.

Camie with Mia and Emma

Mia and Emma watching the tiger sleep. There were quite a few tigers at the zoo. They have a lion, but it was not out.

Emma loves turtle and this was a BIG one :)

We had a great time with the Fillpot girls! I am definitely going to head back to the Austin Zoo soon! Maybe next time we will take Trav! He sounded a little bummed that he missed the trip!

Quack, Quack, Quack!!!

2010-07-25T13:30:00.003-05:00

Last week we went to the "Duck Pond" in Round Rock. We kept reading and hearing about it and thought we would take a bag of hotdog buns and Emma and go check it out. Travis and Emma on the look out for the duckies. There was a steep-ish slope to the water, so it was tough to get to the ducks that were around. Notice that Emma is ready to throw her bread in :)

There was one duck that stayed on this rock the entire time we were there. It was very strange...and YES, it was real :) Em could not throw that far out.

In fact...she could not throw out very far at all. Notice the bits of bread floating near her toes :)

Sooooo...after not much success at the duck pond, we decided to go to another pond near her sitter's house. It was MUCH better and gave Emma a better idea of what feeding the ducks should be.

This little guy (or girl) was soooooo stinkin' cute and running around trying to get bread with the big ducks...or as Emma called them---the mammas.

Emma got caught off guard when this duck came up and grabbed 1/2 of the hotdog bun from her fingers. Oops...she did not let it happen again!

Close encounters...I guess she was feeling pretty brave.

Ready...Set...Go!!!! Notice Travis in the background. He was rethinking putting the bag of buns on the ground. These ducks were hungry and sneaky!

The duck stand-off. Emma has the bread and all the power in this situation :)

Finally...A Pony Tail

2010-07-19T22:21:00.004-05:00

Sweet girl!!! She is growing up sooooo quickly!!!!

Port A...Day 2, 3, 4, and 5

2010-07-19T21:26:00.011-05:00

The Girl loves her some sour lemons!!!

T burying his little treasure :)

T used spray on sunscreen...and then forgot to ask me to put sunscreen on the rest of his back. OOPS!

Mmmmmm...Froot Loops!

Her goggles ("glasses") were a big hit!

She propped them on her forehead on her own.

Ready for some fun in the sun...if only Mommy and Daddy were not soooooo slow!!!!!

This is the way life should begin every morning!

Fishies!

More fish...BIG fish!

T showing Emma how big he would be if he were a bird.

Em trying to do the same...stretch those arms out!!!

The underwater room watching dolphins. It was sooooo peaceful!

Look...an alligator! This was probably one of her favorite things at the aquarium. She kept following it as it swam back and forth.

Another thing that she thought was pretty amazing. She wanted to keep dropping in pennies and watch them swirl around. If we only knew we only had to spend 11 cents to make Emma happy... :)

Feeding the seagulls. It got a bit scary at one point and T decided that it was better to quit before the flew away with our daughter.

Enjoying an evening stroll at the beach.

The big shark mouth--- I had to get this picture.

Em was SOOOOOO very tired on the drive home. Notice the bite of grilled cheese in her mouth.

Port A...Day 1

2010-07-12T22:57:00.008-05:00

Emma LOVES the ocean, sea shells, sand, and waves!!!! So far, this has been a great trip!!!!

Fun Times with Cousins

2010-07-06T20:19:00.006-05:00

Emma got to hang out with my cousin's son, Luca, last week. We met them at Jungle Java---a place that has a great toddler area. Emma and Luca had a great time. The first picture is of Emma and Luca when Em was almost 2 month old and Luca was just over a month old. Look how they have grown!!!!

Now look at them. Luca is 19 months old and Emma is 20 months old.

And then....Emma got to hang out with Mia. They have such a great time when they get together. Here, Mia had just finished a "performance" singing "Down by the Bay". She had raided Lela's closet and found some pretty flashy shoes with "diamonds" on them. I LOVED this pose.

They had pool time.

And picture time. We tried to get a cute picture of them in their matching 4th of July dresses, but this is all Emma would sit for. We wre starting to notice that Mia was not thrilled with Emma's lack of cooperation :)

Smelling the roses.

And searching for bugs on the tree.

I am looking forward to seeing what adventures these kiddos go on when they are older. I love that Emma has cousins that are close in age and in miles :)

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

2010-07-05T08:06:00.011-05:00

We had a wonderful 4th (contrary to Em's Expression) at my parent's house in G'town. My Dad's sisters were in town for the event and my Grandparents and my sister's family came over, too. It was a full day with a lot of excitement. This was probably the best picture we took. Em is not feeling very excited about the camera lately...or maybe it is just b/c she does not want to stay still long enough for somebody to take a picture. Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting such a lovely get together!

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~Elmer Davis

Oral Language Explosion

2010-06-29T23:49:00.005-05:00

Emma's language skills have really blossomed over the last week or so. She had been repeating the last word of what we said to her for a while, but now she is speaking in 2-4 word sentences. She is saying things like, "I can do it", "I got it" when somebody says "you got it" or "you can do it". She tells me things like..."no me hitting" or "no me jumping" when she is being corrected. Emma is also giving good commands---especially to Bodhi when she tells him to go "outside" when he is licking her. She will now answer questions CORRECTLY with "yes" or "no" and has been listing her friends names when we ask who her friends are. Today she showed my mom the little pool we got her and rattled on and on for about a minute telling my mom what she had done in the pool the night before---complete with hand gestures. This story was 95 %gibberish (words water and bubbles here and there), but I could tell what she was trying to say b/c of her hand movements. It was REALLY cute! This is all happening SOOOOOO fast, but we are enjoying every minute of our sweet Emma Grace!

And YES...I know that the videos are sideways. I did not notice until it was too late. Just turn your heads or computers :)

This video shows Emma dancing to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. Please excuse my singing at the beginning of the video :)

Emma has been counting A LOT lately. She first surprised me by counting 5 playdough balls. Then a couple of days later...Emma was counting something and after she got past 3, she started saying 11...19...13...14. It made both of us laugh really hard b/c we were so caught off guard. Tonight we got her on video counting. You have to listen really closely, but she does a pretty good job.

At Ive's Request :)

2010-06-29T22:08:00.005-05:00

Emma's first pedicure...light pink paint on her little piggies :)
She saw my polish and said "toes". It made me smile and I thought...why not? So, Em sat SOOO still and I painted her bitty toes.

This is a picture of Emma putting her head down b/c I am cooking dinner instead of playing. It was clearly an act. She would look up every once in a while and see if I was watching.

1st ride on a carousel. She picked her horse and held on tight. I thought that the carousel went a bit faster than I thought it should for a kiddie ride :)

Em dressing up like a princess.

The San Antonio Zoo

2010-06-17T17:47:00.007-05:00

Today, we got up early and headed to San Antonio to go to the zoo. I was REALLY excited to take Em to see all the animals and was hoping that her reaction would be priceless. I think Em had a good time, but T and I were pretty disappointed with the zoo. The last 2 zoos that T and I have been to are the San Diego Zoo and the Bronx Zoo. Both of which have way more funding and as a result better facilities. It was not that we had a bad experience, we just had REALLY high expectations. Em's got really excited about the turtles, the fish, the monkeys, birds and butterflies. Those were the things that moved around and interacted with her the most. I am guessing that as she gets older, the bigger animals will be of more interest to her. Today---bless their hearts, they were all being quite still because of the heat. Wow...This was a bronze of a Komodo Dragon. It was pretty close to the size of the KD that they had at the exhibit.

We went into the butterfly house and Em sat on the bench and was tickled when she realized that there were butterflies flying all around her.

I LOVE daddy-Emma behind shots!

Emma watching the monkeys play.

Emma the Butterfly

It was HOT and we needed to stop and take a drink break.

We stopped at the petting zoo, which was really just a goat petting zoo.

Ahhhh...Look at all the "Bubbas". Em's sitter has a turtle named Bubba. So....Emma now sees turtles and says "Bubba Turtle".

The toddler area had a fun fish tunnel.

The 3 of us were ready to head home after seeing all of the animals!!!! Em was asleep in a matter of minutes

Silly Girl!!!

2010-06-10T22:18:00.005-05:00

The fluffy pink hat has found its way out of Em's closet for another appearance. I have said it time and time again...Em loves to dress up. Her first stop is to look in her mirror and then off to play around the house.

I asked her to pose for this picture. She DEFINITELY gets the idea that she is supposed to turn, look, and smile at the camera.

But of course, the hat should come off for breakfast :)

Such a sad face!!!! She wanted the hat back on and was not able to do it herself. Notice the bow after MANY pulls and yanks trying to get the hat on.

After breakfast, Em went to go sit at her table. This is a picture of her reading outloud to herself. I should have taken a video so that I could capture her story telling abilities.
When I was making dinner, I gave Em a mask to color. She likes to dress up and I thought that it would be fun to have her make her own mask. Emma usually colors with the Crayola Color Wonder markers that only mark on special paper. Knowing this, I set Emma up with a deep cookie tray, taped her picture to the tray, and put on a bib before I handed Em the REAL markers. This is what happened.

Her hands were COVERED!!!!

She had a great time!!!

School's out for Summer!!!

2010-06-07T17:37:00.001-05:00

So, we have successfully completed another school year! We are soooooooo excited about all the fun we are going to have with sweet Em this summer!!! Sprinkler parks, free kiddie concerts, the beach, the pool, etc. We kicked off the summer fun with the Hyatt FANG-tastic Family Festival. It was HOT, but it Emma had a good time.

This was just a cute picture from earlier this week.

Emma got to spray the fire hose at the family fest. She got into it! She also got to sit in the fire engine. Do we have a future fire chief among us?!?!

The fest had a lot of free things for the kiddos---face painting, popcorn, slushies, balloon animals, concerts, etc. Emma enjoyed her butterfly balloon for a whole 5 minutes :)Dusty from the Biscuit Brothers---Em liked their music and went out and danced with the other kiddos.

Whew...it was hot and her face shows it!!!

Stopping for mommy kisses!!!!

Em was fixated on this cover on the ground. We have been going to the sprinkler park and the water comes up from a similiar cover in the ground. I wonder if she was waiting for the geyser to come up :)

Whew...We have been BUSY!!!!!!!!

2010-05-22T21:26:00.009-05:00

It has been a while since I have posted, so this one will have quite a few pictures. We have been busy wrapping up another school year and enjoying Miss Em.

Em got some mosquito or ant bites and she was wanting to scratch them. I thought that I could put my socks on her arms and legs and prevent scabs :) It worked for a while---even through a nap, but eventually the socks no longer worked and there were scabs :( We got Em a magna-doodle b/c she LOVES to draw. I thought it was cute that she sprawled out on her belly to sketch some beautiful pictures.
We went to a birthday party at Little Gym last weekend for Leah. Leah's mommy and I work together at NES. It was the perfect setting for kiddos of all ages and Em had a great time. She was waiting in line to go though the bands. I think she was coming up with her stategy when this picture was taken :)
Ahhhhhh....this is what she thought up. Crawl below both the bands!
She definitely loved the cupcake!!! Mmmmmmm....

Travis surprised me Monday with bikes and a bike trailer. We live in the perfect neighborhood for bikes---tons of trails, side walks, and parks near. I was thrilled and encouraged T to put the trailer together so that I could take it for a test run. I kept doing circles in our culdesac. I am sure I looked goofy--especially b/c I was NOT wearing bike riding clothes or shoes!!!

Emma was a little concerned about the helmet at first, but after we let her play with it for a couple of minutes she warmed up to the idea. Now---only after a week, she climbs into her seat and asks for her "hat".

T's school had a health fair today and we went. They had a bounce house and Emma had fun!!!

After Emma's nap, we decided to go on a bike ride---a long one :) Our house backs up to a hike and bike trail. This trail winds through parks and beautiful and serene scenery. One of the parks that it passes is Brushy Creek Lake Park. This park has a sprinkler park. We usually drive b/c it is too far to walk, but I thought we could bike it....hmmmmm, I am pretty sure that I will not be doing that ride daily :) Em had the best seat and enjoyed every minute of our hour round trip ride to the park!

She was unsure about all the water and the kiddos when she got there, but quickly got comfortable and forgot about Travis.

Splish, Splash!!!!

Em was waiting for the sprinkler to come back on.

Soooooooooo much fun!!!!

I love this picture b/c she looks like she is having such a great time!

Getting ready for the ride home!!! I was dreading the 2 big hills that were soooo lovely to coast down as we were leaving our neighboohood.

I think all three of us had a great time, but T and I think it is yucky that we have a hill leaving our neighborhood and 2 hills coming back home. My face was pretty red and my legs were like jelly. I am SURE that I will be sore tomorrow. If I keep this up, my legs will look great by the end of the summer!!!

Bad Behavior, BBQ, and Bob

2010-05-01T20:40:00.008-05:00

This is what I found when I went to get Em up from her nap this afternoon. I am sure that I have encouraged this diaper pulling to happen again b/c I grabbed the camera, yelled for T, kept asking Em to look at the camera. Thank goodness it was not a poopy diaper!!!!!!!!!

Diaper on the ground, diaper on the ground...lookin' like a fool with your diaper on the ground :)

This afternoon we headed to the 3rd Annual Brushy Creek BBQ Cook Off. It was a couple of miles from our house, T's dad was competing, and Bob Schneider was putting on a free concert...sounds like the perfect way to spend our Saturday afternoon!!!! Davin, Camie, and Mia joined us for some fun in the sun!
Em and Mia enjoying themselves. Somebody came by and mentioned that they looked alike and Mia said, "Well, we ARE cousins." Duh!

T's dad, cousin Mark, and T as T's dad is cutting up the brisket to be judged.

Ahhhhhh......the moment I had been waiting for. Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE Bob Schneider. I have been a fan for about 10 years and so when I found out that he was going to be coming to my 'hood I was THRILLED!!!

T's dad worked out a deal to get us a photo op after the show. T's eyes are closed, but this is the only picture that they took. I have had the pleasure of meeting Bob before---I even have a signed CD--- "To Anjie, LOVE Bob" :) The picture is a nice addition to my collection.

Em was a trooper and was fantastic until we left. You could tell that she was sleepy, but she hung in there.

Em loved meeting this little pup!!!

T's dad and his clan won the People's Choice award and walked away with almost $2,400. Congrats!!! I have to say, their brisket was pretty yummy!!!

The Motal's are looking forward to next year's Brushy Creek BBQ adventure!

Road Trip to La Grange

2010-04-24T16:45:00.005-05:00

Trav, Em and I headed to La Grange to visit with Trav's Great Uncle, Jim. He came from Louisiana to help fix up the Migl House. I am TOTALLY not going to do the story justice, but basically, this house was Jim's Great Grandparent's house and they are restoring it. It was moved to the fairgrounds in La Grange and now has items and MANY pictures from all of the family. It was really neat to see and we were glad that Uncle Jim finally got to meet Miss Em. We stopped to take some bluebonnet pics. Em did not think it was a good idea for us to plop her in some flowers on the side of the road an then walk off. I thought that this would be as good as it got, but after about 10 shots she started to pose for me :)

MUCH BETTER!!! If you look closely, you can still see a lingering tear drop.

The view from Daddy's shoulders was pretty good, too!

Even higher was not bad either!

Em was trying to get into one of the other cottages that had been restored. This one had 2 BEAUTIFUL red doors with bluish green shutters. It was very pretty!

Still posing with her puppy.

Emma and Uncle Jim

Playing beside the Migl House

Everybody working hard to replace the roof. Trav and I did not bring out work clothes :( but T did help out a bit and we got to write our name down on the wall as people who have contributed to the restoration process. I am pretty sure Em picked up some items also :)

The front of the Migl House. Can't wait to see it when all of the hard work is done!!!

Hoppy Easter!!!

2010-04-04T21:06:00.004-05:00

We spent Easter at my Parents' house with family. It was a very relaxing and joyous way to spend the day. We all had a great time!

Lela and her girls

Em was not excited to go on this shoulder ride. I think there was too much excitement at the ground level and she felt like she was missing out.

Best shot at a family picture...

hey---we are all looking in the same direction and 2 of us are smiling :)

Sweet Girls!

Busy Day!

2010-03-27T20:27:00.008-05:00

Our day started with an Easter Egg Hunt at one of our neighborhood parks, hosted by our neighborhood association. It was a lot of fun and was wonderfully organized by age groups. It is pretty cute watching a crowd of toddlers picking up eggs.
Emma got a lot of candy that she will never get to taste.

Her basket filled up quickly!!!

Emma spent quite a bit of time after the hunt, trying to put the eggs back together again.

Then, we went to Northwest Elementary for the 50's themed Spring Fling.

I was manning the Toilet Toss game. Students got Tootsie Rolls and had to toss them into the toilet for a prize. Emma was trying it out. I hope she does not think this is ok for home :)

I don't know what T and E are doing, but I just really liked this picture.

Trav wanted to take Emma down the big, blow up slide. She wanted to keep going down it, but they were shutting down.

I wish we would have gotten a full length shot. All 3 of us were decked out in 50's costumes. It was fun, but we are tired after the Spring Fling, the Easter Egg Hunt, and Trav's Rockin' Hula Dance last night (pictures of Travis dancing on stage to come!). Thank goodness we do not have any set plans for tomorrow.

Happy BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRthday Payton!!!

2010-03-21T17:58:00.003-05:00

Emma went to a birthday party on Saturday. We had an UNUSUALLY cold and windy day---I believe it was around 40 degrees at the time of the party---located outside at a park. It was a farm themed party, complete with a petting zoo. We did not stay long b/c Emma was getting pretty cold and I wanted to leave before the meltdown :) This is the only picture I got from the party before my camera battery died--that is Em in the pink bow :). I did not even get a picture of Emma in her HOT pink cowgirl boots. Hopefully, Ashley did and she can share with me :) Here are more pics from the party... www.thewonderlyfam.blogspot.com

Ok...did I mention that it also rained the night before and early that morning? I went to park on the side of the road and got a wee bit stuck :( Thankfully Ashley's husband, Jordan, and her brother in law, Patrick, were able to help me out!!! Thanks a million!

On the way home, my steering wheel started shaking after I hit 60mph. Hmmmmmm...Then it started shaking only when we accelerated over 60mph. We cleaned off the wheel and it still shook. I guess we need to take it in and see what damage I did with this muddy mess!

Rodeo Adventures

2010-03-19T21:23:00.005-05:00

Trav had the wonderful idea to take Em to the Austin Rodeo today. It was a beautiful day and we had A LOT of fun. Em was excited to see the carnival rides as we walked up!

Hello, Mr. Bull! "Cow, Cow, Mooooooo!!!"

This is her new cheesy smile. I think she is imitating our laughs. She makes a cheesy grin and makes noise at the same time. She is also starting to make this face when she is in front of the camera.

Oh, the germs.....eeeek. I guess she could be rolling around in much worse! She was loving the sheep. I was very anxious about her being soooooo close to all the animals. Her little fingers look like bites of food!!!

Do you think they will mind if I just pick him up and take him home with us?

Look, a baby goat!

Em liked the petting zoo. I was VERY surprised that she acted like it was a normal event in her day. She has been very shy with people lately and I kinda expected her to be skiddish with the animals---NOT SO :)

She got to listen to live music and get some foot tappin' in.

Watching Swifty Swine races. They had heats of 4 piglets racing around a track. Em thought it was quite entertaining.

The John Deere Tractor did not disappoint!

What a great day! Thanks, Babe for planning such a fun outting!